Four Bethel Students Made New by Being Baptized on Campus

When Greta Klinga BUILD’23 walked from her apartment in Bethel’s North Village to the Lakeside Center buildings on May 21, she reflected on the milestones ahead. In moments, she would be baptized. In days, she was going to graduate from the BUILD program. “I remembered having the sense of a new beginning,” she says. That day, Klinga was one of four students baptized on campus. All wore shirts with the words “Made New,” a reference to 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

To Matt Runion, campus pastor for spiritual formation and care, the students’ declaration of faith capped a school year of abundant spiritual fruit. Runion sees it as a positive sign of that fruit that the idea for baptisms originated with students. In April, a few students separately approached Runion and Associate Campus Pastor for Worship Experiences Caitlyn Stenerson '14, S'19 in the same week about being baptized. Though Bethel is a Christ-guided university, baptisms are not common on campus. Many Bethel students attend area churches on Sundays, and baptisms are something typically left to area churches. Other students were baptized this year at churches they attend, but this was the first time Bethel students led a baptism on campus in decades. Runion isn’t aware of one in the 20-plus years he’s been at Bethel or in the immediate years before. 

With support from partnering churches and Converge Regional President Mark Bjorlo, Runion and Stenerson performed the baptisms and met with the students to give them a biblical foundation in baptism. They asked students to share their faith and what their faith means to them. “We met with each of these students to give them some biblical foundation about baptism in the life of the believer,” Runion says. “We discussed the powerful effect of making this public declaration of faith as well as the importance of honoring the people closest to them—particularly parents.” In those meetings, the four students baptized each shared that they've found friendship and a Christ-centered community at Bethel. “They shared that they've found friendship and Christ-centered community that gave them a sense of belonging—that they are included in something far bigger than themselves,” Runion says. “They also shared how at Bethel they've found a place to more fully become who God has called them to be in all aspects of their lives.”

Klinga was baptized as baby, but her faith grew tremendously during her time at Bethel, and she wanted to make it public. “I wanted to re-declare my relationship with Jesus,” she says. Similarly, Kenzie Klasen ’23 grew up a Christian. But she’s seen her faith grow during her time at Bethel, rededicating her life to her own personal faith journey. Klasen had been thinking and praying about being baptized when she received a Bethel email about the upcoming baptism. “I saw it and decided now would be a perfect time to get baptized!” says Klasen, who is majoring in psychology. Along with Klinga and Klasen, Joe Franzen ’25 and Rachelle Herrmann ’25 were baptized in the Lakeside Chapel which features a baptistery.

The students were baptized in front of family and friends from the Bethel community. “My day was very emotional but amazing. I loved having my family and friends there for support,” Klasen says. During the baptisms, Runion was struck by the pure and profound joy of the moment as the students took the step before their family and friends. “In a season of seemingly constant change and challenge, God used it to remind me that this is His ministry,” Runion says. “It is He who has begun a good work at Bethel.”

To Runion, the baptisms were reflective of all that’s happened at Bethel over the last year.  Looking back, Runion and Stenerson reflected on the abundant spiritual fruit of the past year. They thought of more "splashy" things—a spontaneous thrice-weekly student-led morning prayer and worship, a few 24-hour prayer gatherings, spiritual renewals on multiple athletic teams, and a new student-led partnership with Inner City Church of Minneapolis. But they also celebrated more private, personal milestones. Some students found deliverance from addiction and relief from mental illness. And many students grew in their faith, developed spiritual practices, and followed calls to vocational ministry. “The Spirit is alive and active,” Runion says.